Do Over

So, January was 172 days long and February lasted only about 172 minutes. In all of that, I definitely lost sight of my writing resolutions and goals. How about you? Are you plugging along or in need of a reboot? I think it’s probably more fair to say that our ability to write and stay on schedules (self-proclaimed or otherwise) ebbs and flows over time. The calendar can often play a big part, but so do things like illness, the weather, holidays, family, work, and pretty much anything else. Ultimately, I think the best thing any of us can do is to try to write every single day – even if just for a few minutes. I know that’s easier said than done, but nothing worth having has ever been easy, right?

Welcome to Week 360

We’re kicking off the week in style at YeahWrite with both our competitive challenge grids in one post, plus prompts, tips, tricks and more. You asked, we answered! Keep scrolling down cause it’s all right here.

Submissions for this week’s challenges open on Monday at 12 midnight and close on Wednesday at 10pm ET. Voting will then open immediately thereafter and close on Thursday at 10pm ET. The winners, as always, will be celebrated on Friday.

Having trouble getting started? Hop on over to our quick guide. And don’t forget to doublecheck the full submission guidelines before you hit that button.

Microprose Challenge Opens Wednesday

This week has the first Wednesday of the month, and you know what that means: our tiniest challenge will be open for under 24 hours, starting Wednesday at midnight! Every microprose challenge has different rules, so you’ll need to keep your eyes peeled and your fingers fast. Need a quick link to the challenge? This one goes live when the microprose grid opens.

Nonfiction Challenge

Gone Again

I blame my lack of writing on my holiday schedule. When I’m away, I have even more to do when I return and poof no writing time. And I’m leaving again, which won’t help. By the time this goes live, I’ll be in Napa, California. I usually don’t schedule trips so close together but my husband has business there (I know…) and so nearly everything but my ticket is covered. It was kind of a no-brainer for this wine-loving gal. I hope you have more writing time than I will this week because I can always make time to read so please submit your mostly true stories!

Technique Toolbox: Pitch and Submit

Got a great piece of writing but not sure how to find a home for it? Know you’re a good writer but not sure what to write or who wants it? Check out our tips and tricks for pitching, submitting, and even getting ideas (plus three bonus rants from Rowan) in this month’s Technique Toolbox!

Nonfiction challenge grid:

Basic YeahWrite guidelines: 750 word limit; your entry can be dated no earlier than this past Sunday; nonfiction personal or persuasive essay, creative opinion piece or mostly true story based on actual events.

Check the submission guidelines for our full set of rules. If you’re not sure how to link up, hop over to our quick tutorial for getting started at YeahWrite! Otherwise, click that blue button when the challenge is open, and good luck! Come back to vote starting Wednesday at 10pm, and check out our winners on Friday!

Fiction|Poetry Challenge

The More You Know

Three things I learnt at this year’s Writer’s Festival:

1. Write for you — over and over, prolifically published authors talked about how they’d tried to write for a market, or write for a specific editor, and how they’d had no success. When they finally wrote something that they’d want to read, that filled a gap for themselves, success found them.
2. Go for a walk — if you’re struggling with getting words out of your head and onto paper/a screen, go out into nature. Walking, running, swimming, going outdoors are all good ways to get those words flowing. They allow your mind to wander while you’re focused on something else.
3. Write it down — keep notes on everything. Some writers use clever apps that synch across all their devices, others keep scrupulous notes in journals, yet others scratch things out on the back of envelopes and receipts. It doesn’t matter how you take notes, but write it all down and collect all the ideas. Those snippets of conversations, the tiny observations, the perfect sentences can all lead somewhere.

March Poetry Slam: Acrostics

Take one of the building blocks of learning poetry to new heights as we play a new game with the old acrostic form in this month’s poetry slam. You’ll learn one way to integrate your title into your poem with a little bit of nuance and a lot of fun! Get your spellcheck ready and let’s go!

Prompt Up!

Prompt Up is our weekly writing prompt for the fiction|poetry challenge! Here’s how it works:

For Fiction

• there will be two prompts each week: a prompt generated by the YeahWrite editors and a prompt generated by a previous winner of the fiction|poetry challenge. That’s right! Winners decide one of the prompts! If you’re a crowd fave winner on the fiction|poetry grid, keep an eye out for an email from us. If we don’t hear back from you by the deadline, we’ll pick our own prompt, and what fun is that? Generally, winners will decide the prompt for the challenge two after the one they won (so 349 picks 351, and so forth).
• the two prompts are MANDATORY for flash fiction submissions.
• the two prompt styles will vary month to month; they may include emotions, specific words, a specific sentence, genres, photographs, etc. There is no limit to how we can change it up.
• the prompts will be posted in the kick-off on Sunday. Submissions will be accepted through Wednesday at 10pm EST (same as before). Everyone will have a little less than 4 days to write and edit a story.
• YeahWrite editors reserve the right to alter the winner’s prompt. We’ll give you some suggestions for what makes a prompt inspiring and functional, but we’ve noticed that some work better than others, and if we think folks will struggle with yours, we might need to tweak it.

For Poetry

• You’ll need to incorporate at least one of the three possible prompts. Each fiction prompt counts as a single prompt, and the poetry slam counts as a prompt.
• This means you can write poetry about one of the two fiction prompts, in any form you like, or about anything you like, using the form given in that month’s poetry slam.
• Yes, you can use more than one of our prompts in your poem!

We’re very excited about our new challenge, and we hope you are, too!

The first prompt is: Use one of the definitions of the word below in an INTEGRAL way in your story. In other words, your story wouldn’t work if the idea of the defined word were taken out.

Definition of pivot
1 : a shaft or pin on which something turns
2 a : a person, thing, or factor having a major or central role, function, or effect
b : a key player or position; specifically : an offensive position of a basketball player standing usually with back to the basket to relay passes, shoot, or provide a screen for teammates
3 : the action of pivoting; especially : the action in basketball of stepping with one foot while keeping the other foot at its point of contact with the floor
(definition source: merriam-webster.com).

The second prompt, a genre prompt, comes from YeahWrite #358 Fiction|Poetry winner, MM Schreier. The genre that your story must be written in is: Steampunk. Here is a basic definition: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk, but we encourage you to research the genre more widely.

Poets: write a poem that incorporates the prompt word (pivot), fits within Steampunk, or is an acrostic. You are free to incorporate all three if you wish.

Fiction|poetry challenge grid:

Basic YeahWrite guidelines: 750 word limit; your entry can be dated no earlier than this past Sunday; fiction or poetry only.

Check the submission guidelines for our full set of rules. If you’re not sure how to link up, hop over to our quick tutorial for getting started at YeahWrite! Otherwise, click that blue button when the challenge is open, and good luck! Come back to vote starting Wednesday at 10pm, and check out our winners on Friday!

YeahWrite Super Challenge

The third and final round of Super Challenge #7 is currently underway! Good luck to all our participants as they anxiously await the results. Did you miss out on registration? Well you’re in luck! Registration for Super Challenge 8 is now open! Make sure you also sign up for our email blast so you don’t miss out on any announcements for the next Super Challenge.

Winners’ Round-Up

In case you missed them, you can find last week’s YeahWrite staff picks and crowd favorites all laid out for you on last Friday’s winners’ post. Leave the winners some love in the comments. They will love you right back, we guarantee it.

Last call: This week’s Weekend Writing Showcase is still open for business until the challenge grids start at midnight! No moderation, no voting. It’s a laid-back relaxed kind of place. Just leave your commercial or sponsored posts at home. Drop by, share your work, and while you’re there, visit your fellow yeah writers.

About the author:

Michelle submitted her first entry to YeahWrite in March 2012 and they haven’t been able to get rid of her since. After nearly 20 years in the insurance/employee benefits industry, she decided to give it all up to pursue writing full time. Her work has been featured on The Huffington Post and xoJane, as well as several local sites near her northern NJ home. She blogs at Michelle Longo.